In This Together A Tiva Story
by WritingFromTheSoul
Summary: When a case takes a surprising twist, it will set off a chain reaction of events that bring Ziva and Tony closer than ever before. Rated T for suggestive themes, some language,, and a scene of violence. TIVA!
1. Fallen Warrior

Tony's POV:

"Let's go!"

Music to my ears. I grabbed my gun and hopped into the front seat of Gibbs' sleek black Lexus. For the past month we had working on nothing but the Belling's case. Travis Belling's wife, Chief Petty Officer Haylee Belling, disappeared one night, leaving a terrifying message on his cell phone of her shrieking to help her, suddenly cut off. We had finally tracked down where the call had been made, found who owned the car that kidnapped her, and found out where the car holding the petty officer was going. According to McGee, it was due to hit the Metro Station in twenty minutes.

At the metro, we jumped out of the car, hiding any hints on us that we were federal agents. We didn't want to frighten the kidnapper into hurting anyone. We split up. "Romano's details?" I asked into the Bluetooth.

A familiar voice answered my open question. "Tall, Italian, chestnut hair, and a tattoo on his arm that says _Tutto è permesso in guerra ed in amore_, or 'All's fair in war and love.'"

"Ten-four, McGeek."

He groaned into the speaker. I smiled.

"Ziva?" I asked the Bluetooth.

"Yes?" her voice came through.

"I think I got him. Train platform 25."

I heard her relay the info to Gibbs.

We speed walked to the platform, guns in hand. Romano held onto a woman that looked like she had been crying, and, by looking closely, I could see the black piece of metal he held to her back. Gibbs motioned for me to go behind him. I went up ahead, to cut him off. Gibbs would come in on Romano's left, McGee on Romano's right, and Ziva from behind We all began closing in, when suddenly Romano drew out the gun, and fired three shots into the air. Suddenly, it seemed like the entire platform had frozen. "Put down the weapons or I'll shoot her." he said casually. I had to admire his coolness, considering the position he was in. He forced the gun deeper into Haylee's back, causing her to cry out in pain. "You know I can't do that, Romano.' Gibbs said calmly, not lowering his gun. I looked at Ziva, who was behind him, and silently tiptoeing towards him.

The rest happened in a fraction of a second. Romano yanked his gun out from behind Haylee and fired three shots at Ziva's chest. I saw the bullets, one by one, enter her torso and leave a bloody mark. In that moment, every thought, every idea, every last bit of rationing and mind I had evaporated. I only knew one thing:

I was going to kill him.

Rage pulsed through my veins like some kind of angry drug, affecting even my own physical reflexes. In a fraction of a second, I had pulled my gun and had fired five shots at Romano, a fire blazing in my eyes and in my heart. But more bullets came from Gibbs and McGee's guns. He released Haylee, dropped to his knees, and then folded over. It would be the last time he hurt anyone.

I turned to where Ziva lay, behind him. When I saw her, my rage transformed to fear. My boiling blood turned colder than ice. I ran to her and knelt by her side. My shaking hands picked up her head and torso. Blood dripped down from her wounds onto my hands. She gasped for air, her chest heaving. Her eyes fluttered as she struggled to keep from blacking out. "Boss!" I shouted across the platform. Gibbs sprinted over to me. He knelt beside me. "MCGEE!" Call an ambulance!" he shouted at McGee. McGee fumbled for a cell phone in his pocket. "Ziva? Can you hear me? Ziva?" I asked, unable to keep the panic out of my voice.


	2. Because I Care

Ziva's POV:

Romano turned and, in that moment, I knew exactly what he planned to do. I saw the bullets leave the gun. I felt three sharp pains in my chest and torso. I landed flat on my back, my head smacking the ground. In pain, I shut my eyes. I felt nauseous. It was hard to breathe. I gasped for air as my world turned to a blur of shapes and colors. Suddenly, trembling yet gentle hands cradled my head and torso. "Boss!" Tony shouted.

Tony. I found myself thinking about him so much lately. I would let my mind wander, and it would always end up on him. A consistently recurring memory was Paris. Was that for real? Or was he really getting into the part? I had no idea. My name, faintly called, broke my rushing thoughts. "Ziva? Can you hear me? Ziva?" Tony asked, panicked that I was so slow to respond. "Tony?" I asked faintly, using up precious oxygen. I tried to lift my arms, to comfort, to tell him I would be okay. "Ziva. Stay with me. Don't leave me. Don't leave me!" Tony begged desperately, his voice shaky. "

The world went black.

_Does death hurt this much? _I asked myself.

My chest hurt like hell, and everything was black. I couldn't seem to move, and, when I tried, it hurt so badly that I lay back on, well, whatever I was laying on. I suddenly saw a green pulsating light right beside me. It looked like a….heart monitor?

So I wasn't dead. Just in a hospital.

I suddenly realized there was a soft hand on mine. I looked at the dark figure it belonged to. "Tony?" I asked the blackness. "Good morning." he said tiredly. "Morning?"

I saw him take out a cell phone. He showed it to me: 4:30 a.m.

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

"The doctor said you would live. You were very lucky. The bullets did not penetrate far. If they had gone in even half an inch deeper…"

He trailed off, and I knew what would have happened if the latter were true.

"However, one of the bullets ruptured your lung, so you had to go in for emergency surgery to repair it and to remove the rest of the bullets. So you are going to be on pain meds for a while, you're going to be here for another five days, and you're also going to be off of work for at least three weeks."

"Damn."

"Well, the nurse asked if anyone would volunteer to take care of you until you are off the meds."

"I can take care of myself."

"Not with your whole chest in stitches. Anyway, I said I would."

I froze. "Why would you do that? You have a life, you have work-"

He cut me off by putting a finger to my lips suddenly.

"I said I would because I care."

"About what?"

"About you."

I didn't say anything except for "What?"

"When you spend a long time with someone, you tend to care about them, Ziva. Unless they are one of these people that you hate _because _you spend a long time with them." He chuckled quietly to himself.

"Thank you, Tony." I said softly.

"I'll stop by after work." He kissed me on the forehead, and I felt it burn where he did.


	3. Recovering

Tony's POV:

I pulled up to the concrete in front of Ziva's apartment. I had anxiously waited at my desk, watching the seconds tick by on the clock, feeling like time had purposefully slowed down, just to antagonize me. Gibbs was nice enough to let me go an hour early, even though we had a fresh case, because he knew I was playing nurse for Ziva. I swear to God, that guy does not miss a thing. I grabbed the brown paper bag off the front seat and jumped onto the concrete sidewalk.

I knocked lightly on the door. "It's open!" called a surprisingly strong voice from inside. I opened the door. Ziva was lying on her couch, leaning on her elbow and staring out of the window. I knew that this must be driving out of her freaking mind. The Mossad assassin confined to a couch and pain meds. Wow. It was barely fathomable. I glanced at the counter and saw four different pill bottles. What the hell did they have her on?

"Quit staring." She said, obviously annoyed.

"Sorry."

Sigh. "It's okay."

She straightened and winced in pain. Instinctively, I dropped the bag I was holding and jogged to her side.

"I'm okay." She said in a small voice, laying her hand across her chest. "It just still hurts."

I sat down beside her. She then promptly laid her legs across me. I looked at her, eyebrows raised. She smiled. It seemed to lift a bit of weight off of my shoulders; like that smile let me know that she hadn't changed a bit.

"What did you bring in the bag?" she asked me suddenly.

"Just some stuff to make dinner with."

"Tony." She sighed. "You didn't have to. Takeout would have been just fine."

"Yeah, it would have been _just fine._" I put on my cheesiest Italian accent. "But-a DiNozzo's Special Recipe Spaghetti is more than-a 'just-a fine'. It is-a delicious."

She laughed, and then winced again. She ruffled my hair. "You dummy."

"Thank you."

Silence.

"Could you, um, pass me the green bottle on the table? I need to take one of those now." She put her head down, seeming slightly ashamed.

I grabbed the bottle and handed it to her, with a glass of water. She gulped it down, then made a face.

"Ughh. Nasty one."

"I hear ya."

I checked my watch: 7:45. "I'll start dinner."

I dug through her cabinets until I found a pot, and then threw some pasta in it. In another pan, I mixed vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, and tomato sauce to make a nice sauce. "No beef." I noted to myself.

I pulled out two plates and put some pasta and sauce on it. I turned to look at Ziva, who was staring out the window again, the wind blowing her hair back. _Damn, she's pretty, _I thought suddenly. I then shook my head. Where the hell did _that _come from? She's my _partner_. My coworker, for god sakes!

I thought back to Paris so many months ago. I thought back to that sudden, electrical surge that ripped through my body when she kissed me. No woman, not even Jeanne, had ever given me that feeling. It zapped my nerves, and made me feel like I was the strongest man alive. I knew (and she knew) we were supposed to make love. We were supposed to be playing married couple. But it felt so _real…_

I shook my head again, sending my thoughts tumbling. "Dinner." I said, sitting on the couch next to Ziva. I handed her a plate, and she dug into it. "Tony, this is great!" she said after shoveling it down. "Thanks." I said through a mouthful. She giggled. I spotted some on the corner of her mouth. I wiped it away with my thumb. She flashed me a soft, gentle smile.

After dinner, we both sat on the couch, stuffed from the spaghetti. "Tony, it's a bit cold. Could you please grab a blanket from my room?" Ziva asked, yawning. "Sure." I stood up. I walked into her bedroom.

In her bedroom, there was one large, queen size bed. A small nightstand with a drawer stood beside it, which had nothing except for a lamp and a leather-bound journal on it. I looked at it. _Ziva has a diary? _I thought quietly to myself. I started to reach for it. Then I stopped, embarrassed by my actions. If Ziva did have a diary, that was her business. I grabbed the blanket off the bed and rushed into the living room before I was tempted to do anything else stupid.

"Thanks." She said as I laid it down on her. I sat beside her, also under it. She looked at me with raised eyebrows. I grinned. "I'm not gonna try anything."

"You try anything, and there will be a nine millimeter bullet embedded in your skull."

"Nice to know."

It was cold, and she snuggled up against me. My body tensed as she touched mine, sending the familiar shock through me. I fought to keep it under control. I looked over again, and she was fast asleep. I pulled the blanket over her, and I threw on my jacket. I watched her chest rise and fall rhythmically, and then drifted into sleep.

XXXXX

Please comment! I love getting feedback! Anyway, the story gets a lot deeper, so KEEP READING!

Lots of Love,

Violet

On the small table beside her, I also noticed a roll of gauze.


	4. Shocking News

I don't own NCIS or any of its characters!

To my readers:

Sorry! Typo on the last chapter! That last sentence, about the gauze, was from another story I was writing!Oops!

Okay, back to the story.

XXXXXX

Ziva's POV:

BUZZ!

I fumbled for the off button. "Aww, SHUT UP!" I grumped into the pillow. I sat up, yawning. Last night had been the first night since the shooting Tony had not spent the night at my house. I had begged him to, but he said that he believed in me, and that I would be fine.

He was right.

I stood up and stretched. I flinched a little bit, but it was not bad at all. The wounds were healing very quickly, but the scars would always be there. A permanent reminder of that terrible day on the platform.

I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I flinched a little as the water hit the scars, but I pushed it aside. It was my first day back at NCIS, and I was very excited to see my friends again. I missed Abby and McGee and Ducky, and, yes, I even missed Gibbs. I dried out my hair and then pulled on a black tank top. Then, out of interest, I pulled up my shirt, so that the lower part of my torso was showing. I could still see the three, eight millimeter-wide wounds, but they looked better. New skin had stretched over the scars, and they were less prominent. I smiled. I was healing. Slowly healing, but healing.

XXXX

I strode out of the elevator at NCIS. "Good morning." I said with a large smile, striding into the bullpen. "Well, look who's back." Gibbs said with a rare smile. "Nice to be back." I said. "I prefer paperwork over being confined to a couch and four types of meds for a whole damn month." I looked at Tony, who winked at me. The elevator on the far side dinged. "Welcome back!" A black haired figure said before embracing me. "Hi, Abby." I said, my voice muffled. She looked at me, tears in her eyes. "Aww, I've missed you so much!" she said. I laughed before hugging her again. "I've missed you too, Abby."

XXX

Tony caught me up to speed. We were working on a fresh case involving a dead petty officer and a missing $40,000 from his bank account. Suddenly, the news came on. The news anchor said: "Yesterday, on December 13th, a head-on collision took place on Brookley Drive, involving three people: Gordon Morro and Travis and Haylee Belling. Today, both of the Bellings passed away due to severe brain damage and internal hemorrhaging. The custody of their 10-month-old child is still to be determined."

I looked at a Tony. He was staring solemnly at the screen. How could they be dead? It had only been a month. Gibbs stood. Silence swept over the whole bullpen. A sad, solemn, reverent silence. After a while, the silence ended. I went to Tony's desk. "Did you know they had a child?" I asked him. He shook his head.

Tony's POV:

The next day, I was checking my phone messages when my phone suddenly lit up. "Hello?" I answered.

"Is Anthony DiNozzo available?" A female voice asked.

"Speaking."

"Anthony-"

"Call me Tony."

"Okay. Well, Tony, I'm Mariah Claire, executor of the Belling's estate."

"And….."

"And I am to inform you that Zoey Joyce Belling, daughter of the Belling's, is ready to come home."

"Huh?"

"Your goddaughter?"

"_What?"_ I shouted into the phone.

"Well, since the original legal guardians, her grandparents, Sapphire and Bruce Belling, have passed away, when Haylee was dying and she was confirming her will, she named you as her legal godfather. With a witness present."

I swallowed. "When-what-"

"Please come to my office on Grale St. at three o'clock to discuss this."

"Wait-but-"

The line went dead.

I pulled up to the curb. Okay. If this was a joke, it was _sooo_ not funny. I walked inside. A beautiful blonde was the receptionist. I leaned on the desk, and flashed her one of my patented DiNozzo smiles. "Tony DiNozzo for Mariah Claire." "You're here for Ms. Claire? Just a minute." She pressed a button on a little black box. "Ms. Claire, a Tony DiNozzo is here for you." "Send him right in, Tawny." A voice coming from a small speaker said. "Go right in." she said. "And..." She handed me a slip of paper. "Call me, cutie." she said with a wink.

I walked down the hall until I reached a wooden door with a gold plaque on it that said "Mariah Claire, Executor of Estate." I opened the door. A woman with an oddly familiar figure sat in one of the two chairs apparently facing Mariah's desk, where she was sitting. The woman's back was to me. "Good morning, Tony." "Hello, Ms. Claire." At my voice, the woman sitting in the chair with her back to me whipped around. And when I saw her, I couldn't believe my eyes.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

**Stay tuned for more!**


	5. Parenthood

Ziva's POV:

It was when I heard his voice. I whipped around. "Ziva?" he cried . "Tony? What are you doing here?" I hissed. "Mr. DiNozzo is here for the same reason you are." Mariah said, peering over her glasses at us. "Wait." I said. "_Tony's_ the godfather?" I asked. "Yes, he is. We are here to discuss the custody of Zoey Belling."

I wasn't listening. I was too busy trying to take in how and what happened. Why him? Why me? Why _us? _What about work? How would this affect our partnership? I halted the steady stream of frantic questions I had so I could pay attention.

"Okay, so Zoey has been entrusted to you two. In order to have complete custody of her, you both must sign this legal document acknowledging that Haylee Belling, Zoey's birth mother, has given you custody of Zoey, and that you accept her as your goddaughter." Silence. "Can me and Tony talk about this for a minute?" I said, breaking the silence. I grabbed his hand and led him out into the hallway.

"Okay, Tony. Let's take a minute to review what in the _hell_ we just heard. The Belling's have entrusted us with their three-month-old child. Us, who are not married, not engaged, not even dating. Us, who work for a federal agency, with which our job is to hunt down murderers, rapists, and the like. Parenthood? Us? _Really_?"

He thought about what I said. I was pretty accurate. He, too, was confused. Why us? I could see him thinking his answer through carefully before he answered.

"Ziva, I think everything happens for a reason. There must be a reason why, on her deathbed, Haylee named us Zoey's godparents. There must be."

"Well, if you've got any theories, I'm listening."

He was at a loss of anything to say.

"See? I can barely handle adjusting to a new life, let alone a child." I buried my face in my hands.

"Well, Ziva….how bad could it be?"

I gaped at him.

"Tony, when you have a child, it is not like a dog. You need to attend to its every need; you need to take total care of it. _We don't have any experience with children!_ Face it. We're just going to have to tell them that we're not ready for this."

"Come on, Ziva. We can do this."

"Tony, we can't do this."

He placed his hands around my waist. It was unexpected, yet comforting. I placed my hands on his shoulders, staring into those deep, chocolate brown eyes. The eyes that secretly melted me for years. I laid my head on his chest, and then looked back up at him. I sighed. "You think we can do it?" I said.

"I _know _we can." He said, leading me back into the office.

As we left, he handed the receptionist a piece of paper. "I'm a father." he said.


	6. Brace Yourselves!

Ziva's POV:

In the weeks leading up to Zoey's arrival, we had so much preparation done; it was more like we were adopting five kids and a horse. With the help of a very eager Abby and a very insightful Gibbs, we went shopping for everything we'd need: a crib, baby food, baby toys, a stroller, and a house.

I was walking in the baby girl aisle of a Walmart with Gibbs and Tony.

"Man, do you even know how wrong this feels?" Tony whined.

"Oh, man up!" I grumped.

"How can I 'man up' in an aisle full of freaking pink?"

"You're trained as a federal agent. You should know how to keep your composure in any situation."

"Excuse me, but I did not see 'baby aisle full of pink' on that list of situations."

"Tony, i swear to god, if you do not quit your complaining, I will personally beat the sh-"

Gibbs interrupted our heated dialogue.

"You both need to shut up and pay attention."

"Yes, Gibbs." We said together.

"Okay. Let's see if those lessons I gave you paid off."

He held up a package of diapers and a small pacifier.

"Which one goes in the baby's mouth?"

"The pacifier." Tony replied.

"Correct. Which one goes on the baby's bottom?"

I jumped up and down excitedly. "Oh! Oh! I know this one! It's the, uhh, die-apper!"

"Close enough."

I smiled.

"Okay, round two." Gibbs held up an apple and some baby food.

"Which one do you give to the baby?"

Tony: "The baby food."

"Explain why."

"Because the apple is too big for the baby."

"Good. Ziva, explain what a lullaby is."

"A lullaby is a slow song or melody that usually lulls one to sleep, unless one is a terrible singer."

Gibbs chuckled. "Correct. Okay, you guys are ready."

Tony and me smiled at each other.

We were painting the nursery in our new house. We agreed on light blue, probably because Ziva said pink made her want to throw up. Ziva was painting the right wall and I was painting the left. I looked mischievously at Ziva, whose back was turned. Smiling, I covered a paint brush in blue paint and flung it at her. Blue splattered all over her overalls. She turned, gaping. "You did not." She said. "Oh yes I did." I taunted her. She dipped her brush in the can and flung it at me, covering my entire back with paint. I had my brush, and she had hers. We ran towards the center of the room, getting paint all over us. I streaked some across her cheek, and she did the same to my shoulder. I backed up and braced.

"Oh, you want some of this?"

"Bring it ON!" she said, also bracing herself.

We ran at each other. However, her foot caught the edge of one of the tarps on the floor, and it sent her reeling.

"Oh, crap!" she yelled as she fell on me. She stared at me. I stared deep into her glossy brown eyes. Those beautiful, heart-melting, electrifying eyes. I ripped my sekf out of my trance."Get off!" I said playfully.

The black Lexus pulled up to the house at about five. We opened the door to Gibbs, Ducky, Abby, and McGee. "Come in. We're still finishing the pizza, but it'll be done in a bit." I ushered them inside. I liked our new house. Gibbs helped us buy it. It was about $140,000, and there were two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom. We all sat in the living room, talking and laughing. We were throwing a dinner party because tomorrow we were to pick up Zoey, so this was our last night of freedom- I mean, our last night as unbridled people. "You guys wanna see the nursery?" I said, smiling. 'Oh, yay!" Abby shouted. "We'd love to." Gibbs said with a rare Gibbs grin.

I led them into the freshly dried nursery. Zoey's white crib was in there, complete with mobile. A basket of toys was in the far right corner, a rocking chair in the left and changing station on the right wall. A window, covered by flowing white curtains, looked out onto the street. "It's perfect, you guys." McGee said.

I heard the oven ding to say that the pizza was ready. I rushed in to pull it out. "Who wants pizza?" I asked. "Oh, yeah. Hold on, guys." Gibbs said, rushing out to his car. He opened the door and threw down a six pack on the couch. He ripped off the plastic top. "Catch." He said, looking at me. I caught it. He tossed one to McGee. "No thank you, Jethro. I think I'll skip out."

"Whatever you say, Duck."

"Hey, what about us?" Abby asked impatiently.

"What, you think I forget?" Gibbs said with a grin, tossing Ziva and Abby one.

I popped open mine. "To us. To NCIS."

"To NCIS!" we all cheered, raising our cans.

Gibbs, me, and McGee headed outside to play a little football. Well, rather, me and Gibbs played while McGee tried desperately to keep up with us. We stopped to take a rest, lying on the green grass behind our suburban house. "Wow." McGee said suddenly. "What's up, McGee?" I said. "I remember the first time I met you, Tony. I was a probie, and you were a field agent. Yes, I hated you sometimes, but most of the time, you were so much cooler than me. I envied you a lot of the time."

"Whoa. Slow down, McLover."

"Shut up. But, really, I could never see you as a father, or even as a husband."

"Ouch."

"Seriously."

Gibbs broke our dialogue. "I have to agree with Tim there, Tony."

"Wow, boss. Really?"

"No. I'm just saying that."

I laughed. It made me feel more confident that I knew nothing was gonna change.


	7. A New Life

Ziva's POV:

We picked up Zoey promptly at six on Tuesday from her temporary home. It was then I saw my goddaughter's face for the first time. She had dark brown eyes and little blonde, curly ringlets, like her mother's. Her wide smile and her red cheeks belonged to Travis, however. I cradled her softly in my arms, and looked at her little sleeping face. Tony seemed like he was searching to say something. "Say hello to your new daughter." I said. I put her in his arms. She was asleep.

Tony's POV:

Her little sleeping face was so precious. Suddenly, it hit me;

I am officially a father.

_Damn, _I thought. _Two months ago, if somebody said I was going to be a father, I would probably have laughed my ass off and then asked them if they needed to see a psychiatrist. And now….._

My thoughts broke off as I started the car and began the long drive home.

Ziva's POV:

We arrived at our house at 10:30 (It was a long drive from the temporary home). We put Zoey in her crib so that she could sleep. I collapsed on the bed, Tony next to me. I faded into sleep within five minutes.

I woke up to the sound of loud crying. I blinked groggily and looked at the L.E.D clock beside our bed: 1:30. "Are you _serious_?" I thought to myself. Tony was asleep beside me. "Tony, wake up. Wake up." I shook him. "Mrrf." I heard him say into his pillow. "Tony!" I whispered angrily. "_What?_" he said sleepily. "Do you _hear _that?" I said.

"Zi, unless you forgot, we are _parents _now."

"So?"

"So, if the baby is crying, you have to go check on her and put her back to sleep."

"Why me?"

"_Because _I have already."

"Yeah, right."

"I swear, if you go, I'll give you twenty bucks."

"I'll be right back."

I softly walked into Zoey's room. I took her out of her crib. Cradling her in my arm, I sat in the rocking chair, rocking back and forth, singing softly to her. Within half an hour, she was asleep again. I sleepily staggered back into my bed. "Is she asleep?" Tony said, his voice muffled by the pillow. "Yeah." I yawned. I flopped in the bed. He rolled over, and pulled me closer. "No." I said simply. "I wasn't thinking that." He said, chuckling. I looked at him. He kissed me. He simply smiled, and then drifted back into sleep.

Tony's POV:

I woke up to the sun glaring through the windows. I looked over a Ziva. Her soft light breathing was somewhat melodious. I watched her chest rise and fall with each light breath. Entranced, I simply watched her. I about pissed my pants when the alarm clock started going off. I slammed my hand on it, trying to shut it off. I looked at the clock: 7:30. Ughh. Time to go to work. "Ziva. Zi-Ziva?" I said, shaking Ziva. How the hell had she slept through that racket? "Whooza? Whaza?" she said, suddenly snapping awake. "We gotta go to work." I said sleepily. "Awwww." She moaned. "What are we going to do about Zoey?"

"Let's just take her."

"Are-you-_serious_?"

"Yeah! McGee or Abby could take care of her."

"I will repeat: are-you-_serious_?"

"Come on! Unless you would prefer-" I raised my eyebrows "-A baby sitter."

"I'll get the keys."

We came out of the elevator at 9:00. "Morning boss." I said, limping under the weight of Zoey's stuff. "Morning, Tony." I heard him say, although I could not see out from behind the mountain of toys. Ziva came in, holding Zoey. Zoey shrieked in delight. A new place! Gibbs turned, suddenly aware of Ziva and Zoey's presence. Ziva grinned sheepishly "Sorry, Gibbs. I _really_ don't trust nannies or sitters, and-"Gibbs cut me off. "It's okay, Ziva." He said, smiling. "Did you bring her bottle, toys, and carrier?" he asked. "Yeah. Tony's got them." said Ziva. "Over here, boss." I groaned. "May I?" Gibbs asked. "Sure." Ziva said. I finally had made it to my desk. I dropped everything and was out of breath, panting. I looked at Gibbs He had picked her up and was bouncing her up and down. She babbled in delight. Ziva smiled.

"Awww! Who is this lil' cutie?" A voice suddenly said. Abby emerged from the elevator. "Say hello to Zoey Joyce Belling-DiNozzo." Ziva said proudly, sitting down. "Oh my god! She is _sooo _cute!" Abby said, picking her up and baby-talking to her. "You're such a cutie! Yes, you are!" Zoey giggled, happy at all the attention she was suddenly getting.

We were working on a case involving a knifed down sergeant. I held Zoey in my lap, which she happily stayed. I tried to keep her from stealing my jelly doughnut, to no avail. She was covered in purple jelly when Ducky came up. "Jethro, I have those test results for you." He said, handing Gibbs a white sheet of paper. "Thanks, Duck." Gibbs replied. "Well, who is this little darling?" Ducky asked upon seeing Zoey. "This is Zoey." I said, handing her to him. "Well, hello there! Aren't you a pretty one?" he said, ruffling her hair. Ziva smiled at me, as if to say "We can make this work."


	8. The Happily Ever After

**Dear readers:**

**Thank you for the wonderful and helpful reviews! Sadly, this is the final chapter in this fanfiction…..but, no worries! I'm starting a new one this week!**

**Thanks to mprmusings, dark but so lovely, aquasm, and all my other loving readers!**

**Okay, so this is a bit of a songfic chapter, just as a warning in advance….yeah.**

**Please enjoy and comment!**

**-Violet**

Ziva's POV:

It was Friday evening. Today, me and Tony got off at six instead of seven. McGee and Abby agreed to babysit Zoey so we could have _one night _of peace. All that month I was easy up until midnight and awake by thre. So, tonight, I and Tony were going out to eat to celebrate surviving our first month of parenting. I think we just needed to get out of the house and away from the ever-present smell of diaper powder.

"Come on, Ziva."

"No! I look hideous."

"Yeah, sure."

"I do."

"You probably don't look _that _bad."

"Ughh, fine."

I opened up the bedroom door. I stood there in a light blue strapless, a black belt around my middle. I felt overexposed and goofy. "Whoa." He said. I sighed. "I told you." "Sexy." "Shut up!" I said, laughing and punching him in the shoulder.

We pulled up to Alfonso's Steakhouse an hour later. We ordered that night's special: marinated steak. While we talked, I stabbed a piece with my fork. When I couldn't lift my fork, I looked down. Me and Tony had grabbed the same piece. I tugged. "My piece." I growled. "No, my piece!" he said, frowning. We both tugged at it. "Ha! It's mine!" I said as I won the tug-of-war. He laughed.

Tony's POV:

We arrived home at 8:00. We sat in the living room in our evening clothes, listening to the radio and laughing. Suddenly, the announcer said"Well, folks, it's been a great evening show, and we're going to top it off with one of the best love songs, Stereo Hearts. This one is for all the lovers out there." I stood, bowed and offered me his hand. "Would you care to dance, Ms. David?" I asked. "I'd love to." She replied. The first piano notes began to play, and I took Ziva's hand, and we began to dance. Slow dance, her head on my shoulder. I placed my hands around her waist. She twirled. I sang softly to her:

_"My heart's a stereo  
__It beats for you so listen close  
__Hear my thoughts in every note, oh oh_

__She giggled in my ear, a soft, sweet noise.

_Make me a radio  
__Turn me up when you feel low  
__This melody was meant for you  
__So sing along to my stereo!_

She twirled in my arms, laughing. I grinned, a wide, smile of joy. Hadn't felt like that in a while.

_If I was just another dusty record on the shelf,  
__Would you blow me off and play me like everybody else_

Ziva pulled me closer.

_If I asked you to scratch my back, could you manage that  
__Read it well, check it Travie, I could handle that_

I tightened my hand on her waist.

_Furthermore, I apologize for any skipping tracks  
__It's just the last girl that played me left a couple cracks  
_

_I used to- used to- used to, now I'm over that  
__Cause holding grudges over love is ancient artifacts_

"We've been through a lot, Tony." Ziva said

_If I could only find a note to make you understand_

"I know, Ziva."

_I'd sing it softly in ear and take you by the hand_

"Tony, do you love me?"

_Keep me stuck inside your head like your favorite tune_

The question struck me. I decided that I could tell her the truth "Of course, Ziva."

_And know my heart's a stereo that only  
Beats for you_

She snuggled closer to me.

_My heart's a stereo  
__It beats for you, so listen close  
__Hear my thoughts in every note, oh oh_

___Make me your radio  
__And turn me up when you feel low  
This melody was meant for you_

_So sing along to my stereo! _

As the last notes resounded in the room, Ziva came the closest she had that night, putting her head on my chest, placing her arms around my waist. I pulled myself out of her embrace and got down on one knee. I was shaking. _What if she says no? _I thought nervously. _Don't panic. Just do it._ "Tony, what are you doing?" she asked. "Z-ziva, there's something I need to do, something that I should've done a long time ago." I took the tiny black box out of my shirt pocket and opened it to reveal the dazzling diamond ring.

"Ziva David, will you marry me?"

Her hands flew to her mouth. "Tony! Oh, yes! I will!" I stood up.

Suddenly, our lips were on each other's. Her lips curved under mine, and she responded by shaping hers around mine. She bit my bottom lip. Her perfume, soft and sweet, covered me. The familiar, electrical surge ripped through me; my old friend from Paris was back. My heart pounded as she continued to wrap her lips around mine. It may have been seconds, minutes, days, possibly _years _before we broke apart. The perfume combined with Ziva's heavenly lips fogged my mind and made it near impossible for me to think straight, and I lost track of time.

We broke apart after, well, god knows how long. I stared at her, not knowing how I ever could have loved her more. She made me feel like I was the only guy in the world. Then, suddenly, it hit me. The reason Haylee and Travis had entrusted us with their only daughter.

That day, on the train platform, Haylee had seen something we hadn't: an unbreakable bond. A bond that drove me to protect Ziva, and a bond that gave Ziva the will to survive. She knew that we belonged together before we did. With Zoey, she had brought us together, forever. We were always, and always will be, in this together :)

**I don't know. Personally, I like the ending, but I want to hear what you think! Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be starting a new fan fiction with my other favorite pairing from NCIS, so keep your eyes out. Thank you all for the wonderful feedback on my very first story, it will be very useful in coming stories….**

**Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much)!**

**-Violet**


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